* CEE states hold energy security summit in Hungary
* Agree on stepping up co-operation on policies
* Focus on Nabucco, north-south LNG projects-Hungary PM
(Adds final agreement, more PM comments)
By Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs
BUDAPEST, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Leaders of central eastern
European states agreed on Wednesday to boost efforts to
diversify energy sources, focusing on the Nabucco gas pipeline
and liquefied gas -- alternatives to dominant supplier Russia.
At their meeting in Budapest, Hungary, Poland, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia,
Romania and Austria agreed to set up a so-called energy security
triangle in the region to enhance safety of supply.
"It is a very broad and strong co-operation to ensure that
fewer people have to endure sleepless nights or freezing
temperatures because of any energy crisis in the region,"
Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai told a news conference.
Bajnai said the framework would focus on the Nabucco
pipeline, a pipeline which would carry liquefied natural gas
(LNG) from the Croatian isle of Krk to Hungary, Slovakia and
Italy, and an LNG port in Poland.
He said countries in the region must also enhance storage
facilities and integrate their gas networks by building
interconnecting pipelines, such as a link between Croatia and
Hungary that is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.
"(The signatories) express their support to strengthen
cooperation in further integrating their gas networks and
diversifying routes and sources of supplies," a joint statement
by the participants said.
They agreed to promote North-South links between the planned
Croatian and Polish LNG terminals, foster implementation of the
Nabucco and NETS projects and support the Constanta LNG terminal
and similar projects in the wider Black Sea Region.
NETS is an ongoing central eastern European initiative to
link gas transmission networks.
The region depends on Russian natural gas and disruptions in
shipments during the gas crises of past years caused serious
supply problems in most countries.
About 80 percent of Hungary's gas comes from Russia via
Ukraine. It has boosted storage capacity since 2006 and now has
a total of 5.5 billion cubic metres of commercial and strategic
storage capacity.
RUSSIA REMAINS KEY SUPPLIER
Nabucco, which aims to transport up to 31 billion cubic
metres of gas a year from the Caspian region to an Austrian gas
hub via Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Hungary, would help reduce
Europe's dependence on Russian supply.
Russia's Gazprom <GAZP.MM> backs the rival South Stream
pipeline project which would also run through Hungary.
Earlier in the day, Bajnai told reporters Hungary also
considered South Stream a realistic and key project as it would
be an alternative route of supply for the region, but he added:
"If you ask my priorities ... a pipeline which is an
alternative route and alternative source would mean the biggest
competition and therefore the best prices for the region. A
pipeline with an alternative route would only be a significant
improvement compared to the current situation."
Bajnai stressed Hungary needed Russia in the long term in
its energy supplies and said Russia could be included as one of
the suppliers for the Nabucco pipeline on a commercial basis.
"What we would not like is that there is a single source
supplying Nabucco, but if there are several suppliers, Russia
could be one of those," he said, adding that this idea had not
yet been discussed by Nabucco partners.
The Nabucco consortium includes Austria's OMV <OMVV.VI>,
Hungary's MOL <MOLB.BU>, Romania's Transgaz <TGNM.BX>,
Bulgargaz, Turkey's Botas and Germany's RWE <RWEG.DE>.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than, editing by William Hardy and
Amanda Cooper)
